Automatic air-brake apparatus for railway trains and the like



March 4, 1924; 1,485,421

z. P. LEGER AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKE APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY TRAINS AND THELIKE March 4 1924.

Z. P. LEGER AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKE APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY TRAINS'AND THELIKE Filed May 1 1922 .l un

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 f llIlIl/llll/llll//ll March 4 1924.

1,485,421 z. P. LEGER AUTOMATC AIR BRAKE APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY TRAINSANDTHE LIKE Fnd May 1. 1922 4 sheets-sheet sj [imo/MW Zr/2022 gf?JWM/72g rMarch 4 1924.

Z. P. LEGER v AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKE APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY TRAINS AND THELIKE l 'iled May 1. 1922 4 sheets-sheet 4 [22e/0220i Zezza/2 gw? IIb/12gmwN NN Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

zENoiv P. LEGER, or ivioncroiv, NnwisnUNs-Wioir, CANADA.

Application led May 1V,`

a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, sucli as willenable others skilled in the art to which it kappertains to make and usethe same.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in anautomatic air brake apparatus for railway trainsand the like.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an automatic airbrake apparatus so lconstructed that the air brakes ona railway train orthe like will be instantaneously applied upon the derailment of thetrain.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an automaticelectrically actuated mechanism 'for applying the air' brakes on arailway train or the like upon the derailment of the said train, or thederailmeiit of one or more of the cars thereof.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of automaticmeans for returning the brakes to their inoperative position aftery theyhave originally been appliedV upon the dei-ailment of the train.

A further' object of the invention is the provision of anrapparatuswhich is held in' inoperative position by its connection with anelectric circuit which will be broken ,upon derailment causing theactuation of the apj pai'atus and the applying of the brakes togetherwith means for returning the mechanism to its initial position after thesaid brakes have been thus applied.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of anapparatussuch as above referred to, which will bev comparativelysimpleand inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and efficient in use, andVreadily operated. Y

With the above and other objects in view,Z the present invention residesin the novel fea'- tures of construction, formations, combina-- tions,and arrangements of parts, to'be hereinafter more particularlydescribed, claii'ried v 1922;.v seriai im. 557,775.

and illustrated inthe, raccornpanying .drawings forminga part ofthepresent application, and injwhich:V p F igurev. `1 is a .side elevationof they invention with the `controlling valve in :open posi-` tion; V py ,Y

Figure 2 is a similar view looking. fromV the oppositeL side. o f thedevice;

Figure'Y 3 isv fa -top plan view thereof;` Figure 4f is` alongitudinalsectional view taken througlithe device showingthe valve inclosed position;

Figure. 5 isa viewsimilar to Figure 4 with parts broken away showing theforward switch in open position; Y Figure 6 is a `detail View showingthe means 'foractuatingthe forward switch-; Figure 7` is a diagrammaticview illustrating the wiringof the apparatus;

Figure 8 is asimilar view illustrating the means forcoolingtheelectro-magnet; y l Figure 9 is :a'sectional view showingthe contactpost upon one-of. thejournal boxes;

and,

Figure view taken on the 1line 10-, -fl0y of Figure 4.

Referringnowto the accompanying draw- 10 is a vertical transversesectional ings by corresponding .characters Vof'refer.- Y

ence througlioutfthe several views, the nu-` meral `11 denotes in,`'general a )base upon which iny improved apparatus 12 is mounted. Thisbase is 'positioned Y at :any location within oneor-more-of the cars ofa railway train (not shown in the drawings) and is connected by-a pipe131:0 the air brake system whichV is likewise not shown.` I

The pipe 13 leads to one end off. a cylinder l 14 mountedinsuitablebracketsl upon the basell. An outletpipe 16 extends from'thecylinder-14 andfforms a means through. which thevair is'exhausted fromthe air brake system when :they` valve 17, whichslides within thecylinder 14 is in operi position.

The valve 17 isformed with thesliding member 18 which is -mountedinaguide-19 securedin brackets 20 .to thebase 11. The forward-end 'ofthe member 18- is` providedvwithfan upturned lip,21f(Fig. 5),

-wh-ile slidablei'withinfthe support 18fis a plate22 iwhich is provided`with yan upstan'd'- ing arm 23;`wh-ich is jpi'vot'ed at its upper endlas at 24:` to one `end ofa link 25,I the opposite endofwhichisec'c'entrically journalledras at open to closed position through theinstrumentality of the before mentioned gearing. Forward vand rearswitchesl are shown in Figure 7 at 34 and 35 and Vcomprise stationarydisks 36 and 37, the former of which isprovided with contact members 38and 39, and the latter with similar contact members 40 and 41.

Switch arms 42 and 43 are journalled in the disks 36 and 37 upon shafts44 and 45 and are adapted to engage the contact members 38 and 39 or 40and 41 in a manner to be hereinafter referred to. The contact members 38and 40 are connected by a conductor 46, while the members 39 and 41 areconnected by a conductor 47.

A conductor 48 leads from the shaft 44 and switch arm 42 to the motor32, while a conductor 49 leads fromA the motor 32 to an electro-magnet50. A conductor 51 leads from the shaft 45 and switch arm 43 to asuitable part of the truck frame 52 whichA may be a journal boX andwhich is normally in contact with one of the rails of the railway track53 through the medium of a car wheel.

Another of the wheels 54 is provided with the usual journal box 55insulated from the truck frame 52, and is equipped with a contact post56 to which a conductor 57 is attached which is in circuit with themotor 32 and likewise with the electro-magnet 50 by its connection withthe conductor 49.

The conductor 57 is connected respectively to the positive and negativeterminals of a battery 58, while a conductor 59 leads from theeiectro-magnet 50'to the before described conductor 51.

A suitable indicating lamp is shown at 60 and is connected by theconductors 61 to the conductor 57 upon opposite sides of the battery 58so as to supply current thereto when the switch 62 is in closedposition, as will be hereinafter described. y

The rotatable element 63 of the switch 34 which makes contact betweenthe contact plates 38 and 39 by virtue of its connection with the shaft44 is of circular formation and is provided with peripheral ratchetteeth 64 which are designed for engagement with the yoke 65 carried atone end of an operating rod 66 which is pivoted as at 67 to the beforedescribed link 25 and obviously uponrotation of the gear 27 the switcharm 42 will be moved from open to closed posi-V tion.

The electro-magnet 50 is mounted on a suitable bracket 68 and hasjournailed adjacent thereto a rocker shaft 69 provided with a forwardlyextending arm 7 0 which carries the contact bar 71 of the electromagnet.

A pair of rearwardly extending arms 72 project from the opposite end ofthe shaft 69 and Vhave links 73 and 74 connected thereto.

As shown in Figure 4, the link 74 is pivoted at its lower end to a latchmember 75 which engages an extension 76 formed upon the lower side ofthe support 18 for locking the valve 17 in closed position.

Each of the links 73 and 74 carries a switch element 77 which serves toopen and close the circuit including the conductors 61 and signal lamp60. The switch elements 77 compose the switch 62 above referred to.

Springs 78 serve to hold the rocker shaft 69 in the desired position andto assist in the proper movement thereof.

rEhe movable element 79 of the switch 35 which is connected to the shaft45 is provided with plurality of peripheral gear teeth 80 which meshwith. the rack 81 pivotally supported in a bracket 82 carried by themember 18 and serves upon the movementJ of the member 18 to move theswitch arm 43 into engagement with either of the contact plates 40 or 41as desired.

A spring 83 is attached at its opposite ends to the cylinder 14 andmember 18 respectively and serves to assist in their proper movement bydrawing the valve 17 to its closed position.

The rocker shaft 69 is provided with an upwardly Adirected arm 84provided with a terminal eye 85 through which an operating rod 86passes.

The rod 86 is pivotally connected as at 87 at one end thereof to thelink 25, while the opposite end is provided with a stop 88 for a purposeto be later explained.

As clearly shown in Figure 6 of the drawings the movable element 79 isconnected to the shaft 45 by a pawl and ratchet mechanism 89 so that theshaft 45 will be rotated upon movement of the rack 81 in but onedirection only.

As shown in Figure 8 of the drawings thev electro-magnet 50 issurrounded by a suitable coil of pipe 90 through which cooling iuid maybe directed for the purpose of preventing said magnet from overheating.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The valve 17 is normally in closed position, while the switch arm 42 isin contact with the contact plate 39 and the switch arm 43 in contactwith the plate 40.

When in this position the circuit including the motor 32 is in' openposition and the bar 71 is in contact with the cores =of theelectro-magnet being held in such position by the closed circuit of themagnet which includes the conductors 57 and 59 and the engagement of theWheel 54 with the rail 53 and likewise the conductor 51 and the truck52. Y

In case of derailment, as the wheel 54 leaves the rail 53, the magnetcircuit will be broken de-energizing the magnet 50 and releasing the bar71. The springs 7 8 will immediately rock the shaft 69 releasing thetrip 75 from the member 76 and the spring 83 will draw the valve to itsopen position thus releasing the air within the air brake system andinstantly applying the brakes.

The movement of the valve to open position obviously causes theactuation of the rack 81 which by its engagement with the gear teeth 8Omoves the switch arm 43 into contact with the plate 41. This movementobviously closes the motor circuit and sets the motor into operationwhich, through the instrumentality of the train of gearing 33, thepinion 31 and gear 27, draws the valve 17 forwardly to closed position,thus again releasing the brakes and permitting the train to againproceed on its course after the wheels 54 have been replaced upon thetrack. Y

Vhen the valve 17 moves to open position upon the derailment of thetrain, the switch 62 will be moved to closed position which obviouslycloses the circuit including the signal lamp 60 indicating that thevalve in the air brake system has been opened.

Upon return of the several parts to their initial positions by theoperation of the motor, the switch 62 will be opened and the lamp 60extinguished.

Upon the return of the valve to its closed position, the yoke 65 carriedby the rod 66 will throw the switch arm 42 from the contact member 39into engagement with the contact member 3S, obviously breaking the motorcircuit and causing the said motor to cease operation.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be manifest that an automatic operated mechanism forair brake systems used in railway trains and the like is provided, whichwill fulfil all the necessary requirements of such a device, and itshould be understood in this connection, that various minor changes inthe specific details of construction can be resorted to within the scopeof the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificingany ofV the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim asnew and desireto protect by Letters Patent is 1. The combination in an apparatus ofthe character described, of a Valve, magnetic tion including a circuitclosed when the train to which the apparatus is applied is run on thetrack, said circuit being opened upon derailment of said train torelease the valve, means for forcing the valve to open position upon itsrelease, and means including ak mo- Y tor for returning the valve toclosed position after derailment.

2. The combination in an apparatus ofV the character described includinga valve for controlling the air brake system of a train, magnetic meansfor locking the valve in closed position, said means being operable torelease the valve upon the derailment of the train, means for forcingthe valve to yopen means for retaining the valve in closed posisoVposition upon its release, means including a motor for returning thevalve to its closed position, and switches for controlling the.v

operation of the motor upon the release of brakes upon the derailment ofthertrain, a.

motor for subsequently returning the valve to closed position, and meansfor automatically starting and stopping the operatingv motor when thevalve is in open and closed positions respectively.

In witness whereof I have hereunto setV my hand.

ZENON P. LEGER.

